Adaptive channel mapping for wireless communications

ABSTRACT

Disclosed in some examples are devices, methods, systems, and machine readable media that reduce the burden of a master device of a second wireless connection by utilizing the channel map of a first wireless connection. Since both the first and second wireless connections are located at nearly the same location, the “good channels” are very similar for both connections. Therefore a second wireless connection may take advantage of the channel assessment conducted by a first wireless connection in identifying channels by using one or more channels of the first wireless connection for communications in the second wireless connection.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/080,037, filed Mar. 24, 2016, which is incorporated by referenceherein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present subject matter pertains to adaptive channel mapping forwireless connections. Some embodiments relate to adaptive channelmapping in BLUETOOTH® Low Energy (BLE) scatternets.

BACKGROUND

Wireless communication systems may employ a number of wirelessconnections between different devices. One type of wireless connection,such as a piconet, involves two or more devices that wirelesslycommunicate on the same physical channel and communicate with each otherby agreeing on a set of common communication parameters. Suchcommunication parameters may include a common clock, channel map, andhopping sequence that is synchronized between the two or more devices.In such networks, devices may have more than one wireless connectionactive at a time. For example, a device that is a member of two or morepiconets is said to be involved in a scatternet.

A multitude of wireless devices may participate in wireless networks.One example of devices in a wireless network includes hearing devices,which communicate with an increasing number of wireless devices. Someexamples of hearing devices are headsets, hearing aids, speakers,cochlear implants, bone conduction devices, and personal listeningdevices. Hearing devices increasingly accommodate wirelesscommunications and benefit from a variety of networks. There is a needin the art for better communications with hearing communication devicesin communication systems.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawing, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like numeralsmay describe similar components in different views. Like numerals havingdifferent letter suffixes may represent different instances of similarcomponents. The drawing illustrate generally, by way of example, but notby way of limitation, various embodiments discussed in the presentdocument.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic of a scatternet comprising two piconetsaccording to some examples of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of a method of selecting channels for use in asecond wireless connection according to some examples of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic of an example computing device according tosome examples of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a machine uponwhich one or more embodiments may be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Within wireless connections, such as a piconet, various networkmanagement tasks are undertaken by a device that is designated as themaster device. Other devices participating in the piconet are termedslave devices. One of the network management tasks undertaken by themaster device is identifying the communication channels (frequencies)that are to be used for communications in the wireless connection. Thechannels used for communications may be indicated with a data structurecalled a channel map. Devices participating in the wireless connectionmay receive a channel map from the master device when joining thewireless connection or when the channel map is updated through a channelupdate procedure. Devices participating in the wireless connection thentune their transceivers at the appropriate times to the one or moreindicated channels. In some examples, the devices participating in thewireless connection employ frequency hopping and the channel mapspecifies a plurality of channels to which the devices hop to in adefined sequence.

The channels in the channel map are selected by the master device usinga channel assessment process. Channel assessment is a process ofdetermining a set of channels from the plurality of available channelsthat are considered to be “good” channels. Good channels are channelsthat are free from interference from other wireless communications. Forexample, a channel may be good when one or more channel qualitymeasurements satisfies one or more predetermined criteria. For example,a good channel may be where a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI)of a channel not currently being used by the wireless connection isbelow a predetermined threshold (e.g., there is no traffic generating areceived signal). Another example of a good channel may be where achannel that is being used by the wireless connection exhibits a packeterror or retransmission rate for communications of the wirelessconnection that is below a predetermined threshold.

Once adequate channels are identified, the master device of the wirelessconnection communicates a new channel map to all the slave deviceswithin a piconet. This may happen when a slave device connects to thewireless connection. Additionally, because the RF environment is subjectto change, the master may periodically perform channel assessment and asa result of this new channel assessment, may change the channels usedfor the wireless connections. The channel map is updated with the newchannels and these updates are communicated to the participants in thewireless connection through a channel update procedure.

The master device may use various methods for performing channelassessment. Methods may be categorized into active scanning passivescanning and Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) look ahead methods. Inactive scanning the master uses its transceiver to look for interferenceon particular channels during times when the transceiver is not beingused for active communications in the wireless connection (for example,between BLE connection events). The transceiver may tune into channelsone at a time (e.g., using a round robin approach) and measure the RSSIon each channel. If the RSSI exceeds a peak threshold level over apredetermined time window (meaning that transmissions are occurring onthe channel unrelated to the wireless connection), the channel will notbe considered good. In this case, it will be placed on a list ofchannels that are not used. If the channel is currently in use, it maybe removed from candidate channels that may be used for the wirelessconnection.

Passive scanning is where the master device monitors one or more qualitymetrics of channels used by the wireless connection. The master devicecollects these metrics as communications of the wireless connectionoccur on these channels. If the metrics for a particular channel cross apredetermined threshold, the particular channel may be removed from use.For example, if a RSSI of communications over the wireless connection ona particular channel falls below a threshold, the particular channel maybe removed from use in the wireless connection. In other examples, themaster device may monitor the number of retransmissions on a particularchannel used by the wireless connection. If the number ofretransmissions of traffic belonging to the wireless connection on aparticular channel over a predetermined time interval exceeds athreshold, the particular channel may be removed from use.

WLAN look ahead may be utilized in certain situations in which themaster device also has a WLAN transceiver. In this scenario the mastermay be able to avoid WLAN interference by knowing the transmissionparameters of the WLAN network. For example, if the WLAN transceiver iscommunicating over a certain frequency range, the channels thatcorrespond to those frequency ranges may be removed from use or avoided.In other examples, if the WLAN transceiver is transmitting on a certainchannel at certain time, the master may schedule the frequency hoppingof the wireless connection such that the wireless connection “hops” tothat certain channel at times the WLAN is not expected to be using thatcertain channel.

Certain wireless devices that may participate in a wireless connectionsuch as a piconet may find it difficult to perform channel assessment orother duties of the master device. Specifically, scanning channelsbetween communications is power and processor intensive. Even tracking anumber of retransmissions over a period of time requires some memory andprocessing power. Devices that may have limited battery, limitedprocessing power, limited wireless transceivers, limited memory, orother limitations may find it difficult to determine a channel map whilestill providing the functionality for which they were designed. Whilethis is not a problem for wireless connections that feature at least onedevice with sufficient capabilities to take on this role, it becomes aproblem in wireless connections where the wireless connection is made upentirely of devices with these limitations.

For example, pairs of hearing devices may form wireless connections(such as piconets) with each other such that the pair may communicatewith each other to exchange parameters, streaming audio, and the like.Hearing devices often lack large batteries (as they may be designed tobe very small for cosmetic and comfort reasons) and may have limitedprocessing capabilities. In order to connect with each other, one ofthese hearing devices takes on the role of a master device that mustexpend power performing channel assessment and other functions.

In addition to forming a wireless connection with another hearingdevice, one or more of the hearing devices may form a second wirelessconnection (e.g., a second piconet forming a scatternet) with a devicesuch as a laptop computer or smartphone. This second wireless connectionmay allow audio such as audio from a television or telephoneconversation to be streamed to the hearing device for playback. Forexample, streaming audio from a laptop, smartphone, television, or thelike may be streamed to a slave hearing device in a first piconet forplayback through a speaker in the hearing device. This hearing devicemay then forward the streaming audio acting as master over a secondpiconet to the second hearing device acting as slave to the firsthearing device (e.g., on a different ear of a wearer) for playback on aspeaker in the second hearing device. In the first piconet, thestreaming audio source, with its increased capabilities as compared withthe hearing device, may be appointed the first master. This device thenhas the responsibility for channel assessment for the first piconet.However, since the second piconet is made up of two devices with thefirst hearing device acting as master in the second piconet and thesecond hearing device acting as slave each with more limitedcapabilities than the master of the first piconet, neither device may bedesirable for channel assessment.

Disclosed in some examples are devices, methods, systems, and machinereadable media that reduce the burden of a master device of a secondwireless connection by utilizing the channel map of a first wirelessconnection. Since both the first and second wireless connections arelocated at nearly the same location, the “good channels” are verysimilar for both connections. Therefore a second wireless connection maytake advantage of the channel assessment conducted by a first wirelessconnection in identifying channels by using one or more channels of thefirst wireless connection for communications in the second wirelessconnection. The second wireless connection is referred to herein as the“secondary” wireless connection (e.g., secondary piconet) as its channelmap is derived from the first wireless connection, which is referred toas the“primary” wireless connection (e.g., primary piconet). The masterdevice of the secondary wireless connection is termed an intermediarydevice and takes the role of a slave device in the primary wirelessconnection. By being the slave device in the primary wirelessconnection, the intermediary device has access to the channel map of theprimary wireless connection. If the primary wireless connection's masterdevice is a device with a large battery, powerful transmitter, sensitivereceiver, high gain antenna, and higher processing power, the burden ofscanning for channels is lessened on devices in secondary wirelessconnections in the area without such capabilities. Furthermore themaster of the primary piconet may also be a dual mode device having WiFicapability and thus knowledge of local WiFi activity which furtherimproves the channel selection for the primary piconet.

If too many channels from the primary wireless connection's channel mapare shared by the secondary wireless connection, the master device ofthe primary wireless connection may detect this as interference and mayremove these channels from the channel map and find less desirablechannels. These less desirable channels may be subject to moreinterference and this may impact communications on the primary wirelessconnection. Furthermore, as the secondary wireless connectioncontinually monitors changes to the channels used by the primarywireless connection (to account for changing radio frequency (RF)conditions), updates to the primary wireless connection's channels maypropagate to the channels used by the secondary wireless connection.These channels may then eventually be marked as bad (due to interferenceof the secondary wireless connection), causing the primary wirelessconnection to again find new channels. In some examples, this may repeatmany times, preventing reliable communication on the primary orsecondary wireless connection.

In some examples, to prevent the degradation of the primary wirelessconnection, the channels of the channel map of the primary wirelessconnection utilized by the secondary wireless connection may not be allof the channels in the primary wireless connection's channel map. Thatis, the intermediary device may reserve a number of good channels fromthe primary wireless connection that are used exclusively for theprimary wireless connection and are not actively used for the secondarywireless connection. Periodically, reserved channels may be rotated withactive channels used by the secondary wireless connection. Rotating thechannels used by the secondary wireless connection from the entire poolof good channels received from the primary wireless connection has atleast three benefits.

First, the primary wireless connection is less likely to remove a goodwireless channel due to interference from the secondary wirelessconnection. For example, the rotation interval may be short enough thatthe channels used by the secondary wireless connection are not beingused long enough that it causes the primary wireless connection todetect interference and drop these channels. This may be especially trueif the secondary wireless connection is utilizing frequency hoppingsince the time the secondary wireless connection will be occupying aparticular one of the channels will be smaller as the secondary wirelessconnection “hops” through the channels in the channel map.

Second, even if the primary wireless connection drops some of thechannels used by the secondary wireless connection, the rotation schemeensures that once those channels are rotated out of active use by thesecondary wireless connection, they will be eventually be re-added bythe primary wireless connection. If the source of interference thatcaused the primary wireless connection to drop these channels wasinterference from the secondary wireless connection, then once thesechannels are no longer used by the secondary wireless connection, theprimary wireless connection may re-add these channels to its channel maponce it detects the absence of the interference from the secondarywireless connection.

Finally, the use of the rotation scheme allows for the secondarywireless connection to determine whether the primary wireless connectionremoved a channel from its channel map was the result of interferencewith the secondary wireless connection or whether the primary wirelessconnection removed a channel as the result of interference with anothersource. For example, the secondary wireless connection may continue touse a channel that is removed from the channel map of the primarywireless connection until it is rotated out as a result of the rotationalgorithm. In some examples, before it is rotated back in, the channelmust be re-added to the primary wireless connection's channel map. Ifthe interference at the primary wireless connection was caused by thesecondary wireless connection, then the channel may be re-added by theprimary wireless connection and may then re-enter the pool of availablechannels at the secondary wireless connection. Otherwise, if theinterference was a result of an external source, the primary wirelessconnection may not re-add the channel until the external interference isgone, and thus the secondary wireless connection may not rotate thechannel back into use until it is again part of the primary channel'schannel map.

The number of reserved channels may be configurable. For example, asystem designer may determine that the primary wireless connection is tohave two reserved channels. The intermediary device may use all but twoof the channels in the channel map of the primary wireless connection.In some examples, if the number of channels used by the primary wirelessconnection drops below a configurable threshold, the intermediary devicemay reduce the number of reserved channels used by the secondarywireless connection by a configurable amount. This may sacrifice somequality on the primary wireless connection to ensure that the secondarywireless connection is still able to communicate. For example, if thenumber of channels in the channel map drops below three, the number ofchannels reserved for the primary wireless connection may be reducedfrom 2 to 1.

In some examples, the number of reserved channels may be increased ordecreased based upon observed communications in the primary wirelessconnection. For example, the intermediary device (which is also a slavedevice in the primary wireless connection) may monitor a communicationparameter of the primary wireless connection to determine if thesecondary wireless connection is interfering with the primary wirelessconnection. Example communication parameters monitored include an RSSI,a number of retransmissions, a bit error rate, and the like. If thecommunication parameter indicates that the secondary wireless connectionis interfering with the primary wireless connection (e.g., by beingoutside an acceptable, predetermined range or threshold), the number ofreserved channels may be increased. In some examples, if thecommunication parameter indicates that the secondary wireless connectionis not interfering with the primary wireless connection, then the numberof reserved channels may be decreased. This process may be repeatedperiodically in order to find and maintain the optimum number ofreserved channels.

In some examples, the master device of the primary wireless connectionmay be configured to be aware of the channel sharing but in otherexamples, the master device of the primary wireless connection may beunaware that its channels are being utilized in this way.

To adapt to changing wireless conditions, the intermediary device maymonitor any changes made to the channels used by the primary wirelessconnection. For example, the master device of the primary wirelessconnection may determine that the RF conditions of a channel may havechanged and it is no longer a god channel. This channel is then removedfrom the channel map. The intermediary device (who is a slave of thesecond wireless connection) then learns of this through a channel updateprocedure initiated by the master device of the primary wirelessconnection.

In some examples, the intermediary device may then also remove thischannel from use with the secondary wireless connection. Theintermediary device may select another channel from the primary wirelessconnection's channel map to replace the removed channel.

In other examples, the intermediary device may continue using a channeldeleted from the primary wireless connection's channel map until it isrotated out of use of the secondary wireless connection through achannel rotation. Once it is rotated out, it may be removed from thereserved channel list and not re-added until the primary wirelessconnection adds it back to its channel map. In other examples, once itis rotated out, it may remain in the reserved channel list, but not usedfor communications on the secondary connection until it is again placedin the channel map of the primary wireless connection.

The removed channel may considered good again if the master device ofthe primary wireless connection discovers this through an activescanning channel assessment technique at a later time. At that point, itmay be re-added to the channel map of the primary wireless connection.The intermediary device may then detect this change and also add thischannel to its channel map. Thus the secondary wireless connection maymirror the channel additions and deletions to the channel map of theprimary wireless connection. As already noted, these additions anddeletions may be subject to reserved channel allocations for the primarywireless connection.

In other examples, the intermediary device will perform limited channelassessment of its own. For example, various passive assessmenttechniques may be more easily performed than active scanning techniques.Examples include an RSSI for a channel used by the secondary wirelessconnection falling below a predetermined threshold, a number ofretransmissions over a predetermined period of time exceeds apredetermined threshold, or the like. The intermediary device may thenreplace this channel on its channel map with another channel from theprimary wireless connection's channel map, subject to maintaining anumber of reserved channels for the primary wireless connection.

As noted, in some examples, in order to keep the channel map dynamic,the intermediary device may periodically remove a good channel or smallsubset of good channels from its channel map. Those channels are thenreplaced by other good channels from the reserved list. In particularthe secondary wireless connection will add any good channels that arenewly discovered by the primary wireless connection to its channel map.This will keep the channel map for the secondary wireless connectionrelatively fresh. For example if someone is walking around in anenterprise with a lot of WLAN access points, the secondary wirelessconnection's channel map will not become “stale” and will remain freefrom interference even as a person moves about the enterprise wearingtheir hearing aids or other body worn electronics.

The secondary wireless connection may be comprised of hearinginstruments having ear-to-ear communication but is not limited to thisconfiguration. It may be used with other body worn communication devicessuch as a microphone array or other health monitoring sensors. Stillfurther it may be used for both on body and off body communication withother devices and sensors. The techniques described herein can begenerally applied to applications where a channel assessment done by onedevice for one wireless connection may be shared with other wirelessconnections at a similar physical location. With the disclosedtechniques, wireless connections can coherently work at a given physicallocation with their good channels and adaptively change the channels inthe “good channel pool” to avoid RF interference outside of thescatternet for better overall wireless communication.

As noted, one example wireless connection refers to BLUETOOTH® piconetsand scatternets. One of ordinary skill with the benefit of the presentdisclosure will appreciate that the present subject matter is applicableto other wireless connections, such as those that are created with otherwireless technologies. The techniques of the present disclosure may beapplied to any wireless technology in which a channel assessment isperformed and in which a device engaged in one wireless connection mayutilize the channel assessment information in managing a second wirelessconnection. Other example wireless technologies include Long TermEvolution (LTE), WLAN (e.g., a network operating according to anInstitute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 familyof standards), BLUETOOTH®, BLUETOOTH® LOW ENERGY (BLE), ZIGBEE®,SHOCKBURST®, ENHANCED SHOCKBURST®, or the like.

In some examples, the disclosed techniques may be for two differentconnections using the same wireless technology (e.g., two differentpiconets), but in examples in which two different protocols utilize thesame frequencies, the disclosed techniques may also be applied acrossdifferent wireless technologies. That is, a channel assessment performedusing one wireless technology may be applied to a wireless connectionusing a different wireless technology. For example, a channel assessmenton a WLAN network may be applied to a BLUETOOTH® piconet by a deviceparticipating in both a WLAN wireless connection and the BLUETOOTH®piconet.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic of a scatternet 1000 comprising two piconetsaccording to some examples of the present disclosure. Secondary piconet1010 is a piconet formed by two hearing devices 1020 and 1030. Hearingdevice 1030 is an intermediary device as it is the master device of thesecondary piconet 1010 and a slave device in a primary piconet 1040.Mobile device 1050 is a master device in the primary piconet 1040 andperforms the channel assessment by determining a subset of the set ofusable channels of a given communication protocol (e.g., BLE) to use forcommunications within the primary piconet 1040. This may be based uponchannel scans, WLAN look ahead, or passive scanning. As previouslydiscussed the channels that are classified as good and used by theprimary piconet 1040 may be identified in a channel map. When hearingdevice 1030 connects to the primary piconet 1040, mobile device 1050informs the hearing device 1030 of the channel map. Hearing device 1030,being the master device of the secondary piconet 1010 determines whichof these channels to reserve to the primary piconet 1040 and thenselects one or more of the available remaining channels to use for thesecondary piconet 1010. The channels that hearing device 1030 ofsecondary piconet 1010 selects may be communicated to hearing device1020 through a channel map. For example, the channel map may becommunicated to hearing device 1020 when that hearing device joins thesecondary piconet 1010 or with a channel update procedure.

Intermediary device 1030 may periodically receive channel updates fromthe mobile device 1050 updating the channels used for communicationwithin the primary piconet 1040. For example, the mobile device 1050 maysend a channel update message with an updated channel map. If thechannel update adds a new channel to the channel map, the secondarypiconet 1010 may also add the new channel (subject to the reservedchannel list) to its channel map.

In some examples, if the channel updates remove a channel from thechannel map and the channel removed was a reserved channel, thesecondary piconet 1010 may remove a channel from its channel map andallocate that channel as a reserved channel to the primary piconet 1040.If the channel removed was a channel utilized by the secondary piconet1010, the secondary piconet may also remove that channel from itschannel map and select another channel from the primary piconet'schannel map subject to the reservation rules. As previously discussed,the secondary piconet 1010 may utilize the channel update procedure toupdate the channels used in the secondary piconet 1010.

In other examples, if the channel updates remove a channel from thechannel map and the channel removed was utilized by the secondarypiconet 1010, and if the secondary piconet 1010 employs channelrotation, the secondary piconet may continue using that channel until itis rotated out of use to the reserved list of channels. Once at thereserved list of channels, the channel may be removed altogether (untilit is readded to the channel map of the primary piconet 1040) or may beheld in reserve, and not used for active communications of the secondarypiconet 1010 until it is re-added to the channel map of the primarypiconet 1040.

Turning now to FIG. 2, a flowchart of a method 2000 of selectingchannels for use in a second wireless connection is shown according tosome examples of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 may be implemented by anintermediary device. Operations 2010-2040 may be performed whenestablishing the secondary wireless connection, when the intermediarydevice joins the primary wireless connection, every predeterminedrotation interval (as shown by dotted line 2070), and when changes aredetected in the channel map of the primary wireless connection (as shownby operations 2050 and 2060). At operation 2010 the intermediary devicedetermines the channels that are being used in the first connection. Insome examples, this may be done when the intermediary device connects tothe primary wireless connection. In other examples, the master device ofthe primary wireless connection may update the channel map through achannel map update procedure. In some examples the channel map as sentby the master device may be a bitmap with each bit positioncorresponding to a particular channel. Channels with a ‘1’ in thecorresponding bit position are channels that are to be used by theprimary wireless connection (e.g., are considered “good” channels), andchannels with a ‘0’ are not used by the primary wireless connection(e.g., channels that are considered “bad” channels). In still otherexamples, the channels that are being used in the first connection maybe determined from the list of channels received in the last channel mapreceived from the first connection.

At operation 2020 the intermediary device selects the channels used bythe second wireless connection (e.g., the secondary piconet). In someexamples, all the channels of the primary wireless connection may beused. In some examples, a subset of the channels of the primary wirelessconnection may be used. In some examples, channels that are not channelsused by the primary wireless connection may be used (e.g., the secondarywireless connection may prefer certain channels or conduct a limitedassessment of some channels).

In some examples, the channels of the primary wireless connection thatare used by the secondary wireless connection may be subject toreserving a number of channels for the primary wireless connection. Forexample, a predetermined number of channels may be reserved in a pool ofunused, reserved channels. The secondary wireless connection may use anyof the channels in the channel map as long as the predetermined numberof channels are reserved for use in the primary wireless connection. Insome examples, if the secondary wireless connection already istransmitting on certain channels, the intermediary device may prefer toreserve the primary wireless connection channels it is not already usingso as to avoid changing the channel map of the secondary wirelessconnection. For example, if the secondary wireless connection is usingchannels 1, 5, and 7, and reserves channel 10 for the primary wirelessconnection and the channel update removes channel 10 and adds channel 8,the intermediary device may reserve channel 8 rather than using channel8 and allocating one of the channels it is using (1, 5, and 7) asreserved. This may avoid a channel update procedure.

In some examples, channels may be rotated periodically (based upon adetermined rotation interval) between the channels being actively usedby the secondary wireless connection and the channels in the reservedpool. Thus, some of the operations of FIG. 2 may be performedperiodically to achieve this rotation (as shown by dotted line 2070).For example, one or more channels that were previously reserved by theintermediary device may be utilized for secondary wireless connectioncommunications and one or more channels that were previously used forsecondary wireless connection communications may be put on the reservedlist. This lowers the chances that the primary wireless connection woulddrop a channel from its channel map due only to interference from thesecondary wireless connection. This also increases the chances that if achannel were dropped only because of interference from the secondarywireless connection, that the channel would be re-added to the channelmap by the primary wireless connection. In some example implementations,in order to move a channel to an active channel from a reserved channel,the channel must be one of the channels used currently by the primarywireless connection. As previously discussed, this allows theintermediary device to continue using channels that are removed from thechannel map by the master device of the primary wireless connection dueonly to interference from the use of the channel at the secondarywireless connection.

The rotation interval may be constant, or may be adjusted up or downdepending on a frequency of incidences where channels are being removedby the primary wireless connection directly as a result of interferenceby the secondary wireless connection. For example, the system may tracka rate at which a channel that is dropped from the channel map of theprimary wireless connection, but is re-added to the channel map of theprimary wireless connection after it is rotated out-of-use at thesecondary wireless connection. The system may increase the rate ofrotation of the channels in response to an increase in this rateexceeding a predetermined threshold. Similarly, the rate of rotation ofthe channels may be decreased in response to this rate falling below asecond predetermined threshold.

As already noted, the number of reserved channels may be adjusted up anddown on the fly from a configurable and predetermined number of reservedchannels based upon one or more of: the RF environment, the needs of thesecondary wireless connection, the communication status of the primarywireless connection, and the communication status of the secondarywireless connection. For example, if the number of good channels in thechannel map of the primary wireless connection minus the current numberof reserved channels would be below a particular predeterminedthreshold, the number of reserved channels allocated to the primarywireless connection may be reduced. This is to allow both the primarywireless connection and the secondary wireless connection access toenough channels for reliable communication.

Furthermore, in some examples, the number of reserved channels allocatedto the secondary wireless connection may be increased or decreased basedupon the RF conditions of either the secondary or primary wirelessconnection. For example, the system may specify that the secondarywireless connection is prioritized over the primary wireless connection.In these examples, the secondary wireless connection reduces the numberof reserved channels until a metric of the secondary wireless connectionreaches a predetermined threshold. For example, the number of reservedchannels may be reduced until the RSSI of communications of thesecondary wireless connection exceeds a predetermined threshold. Inother examples, the system may specify that the primary wirelessconnection is prioritized over the secondary wireless connection. Inthese examples, the secondary wireless connection increases the numberof reserved channels until a metric of the primary wireless connection(as measured by the master of the secondary wireless connection which isalso a slave device in the primary wireless connection) reaches apredetermined threshold. For example, the number of reserved channelsmay be increased until the RSSI of communications of the primarywireless connection exceeds a predetermined threshold. This measurementof either the master or the secondary wireless connection and adjustmentof the reserved channels may be done periodically to assure that thetarget metrics are being met on an ongoing basis.

At operation 2030 the intermediary device may send a channel map toother participants in the secondary wireless connection as a channelupdate procedure. As can be appreciated, if the channels do not change,a channel update procedure is not needed. As explained above the updatemay comprise a channel map which may be represented as a bitmap withrespective bit positions representing respective channels.

At operation 2040 the selected channels are utilized in thecommunications of the second wireless connection. In some examples, thedevice may perform the method of FIG. 2 when the second wirelessconnection is active and when the first wireless connection is active inat least partially overlapping time periods. An active wirelessconnection may be for example, when the devices are participating in thewireless connection, or are otherwise in a wireless communicationsession with another device, even if data is not being activelytransmitted.

At operation 2050 the intermediary device monitors for changes inchannels used in the first wireless connection (the secondary wirelessconnection). At operation 2060 a determination is made if there arechanges. If there are changes then flow returns to operation 2020 wherechannels from the updated channel map are selected and communicated tothe slave devices in the second wireless connection. If at operation2060 there are no changes, the intermediary device continues monitoringfor any changes at operation 2050.

Turning now to FIG. 3, a schematic of an example computing device 3010is shown according to some examples of the p resent disclosure.Computing device may be any device that is capable of forming wirelessconnections with another device. Example computing devices includehearing devices, smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops, and the like.Computing device 3010 may have processing circuitry 3020, such as adigital signal processor, a central processor, or the like. Processingcircuitry 3020 may execute one or more instructions, which when executedby the processing circuitry cause the processing circuitry to performvarious operations. These instructions may be stored on one or moremachine readable mediums. Audio interface circuitry 3030 is circuitrywhich interfaces the processing circuitry 3020 with audio capture andreproduction hardware such as a microphone and a speaker. For example,audio from a microphone is transmitted through the audio interfacecircuitry 3030 to processing circuitry 3020 where processing softwareprocesses this audio. For example, the volume level of certainfrequencies may be increased or decreased as indicated by one or moreconfiguration files stored in a machine readable medium. The processedaudio is then sent to a speaker through audio interface circuitry 3030for playback.

Wireless circuitry 3040 is configured to communicate wirelessly througha connection (e.g., a piconet or scatternet) with one or more otherdevices. In some examples, the wireless circuitry may include hostcircuitry 3050 and controller circuitry 3060. Host circuitry in someexamples is configured to implement a BLUETOOTH® Host functionality asdefined by the BLUETOOTH® Special Interest Group (SIG). For example, inaccordance with a BLUETOOTH standard such as Core Version 4.2 adoptedDec. 2, 2014 or the Core Specification Supplement v6 adopted Jul. 14,2015. Host functionality may include a Logical Link Control and AdaptionProtocol (L2CAP), Security Manager (SM), Attribute Protocol (ATT),Generic Access Profile (GAP), Generic Attribute Profile (GATT), andother profiles and functionality as desired. In general, the hostcircuitry 3050 may provide data encapsulation services to providelogical end to end communication of data. Host circuitry 3050 may alsoprovide methods for establishing connections with other devices (e.g.,pairing) and key distribution, and other secure connection functions.Host circuitry 3050 may also handle device discovery and connections.Host circuitry 3050 may also implement procedures to expose one or moreitems of data on the device known as ‘attributes’ to other devices, andthe like.

Controller circuitry 3060 in some examples is configured to implement aBLUETOOTH® controller functionality as defined by the BLUETOOTH® SIG.For example, in accordance with a BLUETOOTH standard such as CoreVersion 4.2 adopted Dec. 2, 2014 or the Core Specification Supplement v6adopted Jul. 14, 2015. Controller Circuitry 3060 may include hostcontroller interface circuitry 3070. Host controller interface circuitry3070 may provide a standardized interface between host circuitry 3050and the controller circuitry 3060. Controller circuitry 3060 may includea link layer circuitry 3080, which controls the Radio Frequency (RF)state of the device. The RF state may be one of a plurality ofpredetermined states, such as standby, advertising scanning initiatingconnected, or the like. In some examples, prior to connection, devicesmay send connectable advertisements (called advertisers) or listen forconnectable advertisements from other devices and respond if theyreceive an advertisement (called an initiator). If the advertiseraccepts, both devices enter a connected state. The initiator will becomethe master and the device that accepted the request becomes the slave.

Link layer circuitry 3080 may include channel map circuitry 3090 whichmay perform channel assessments and determine which channels to use fora given connection if the computing device 3010 is a master device ofthe connection. In some examples, the link layer circuitry 3080 mayimplement the method of FIG. 2, by utilizing the channel map of anotherwireless connection to which the device is connected.

Physical layer circuitry 3100 may implement one or more physicalprotocols including one or more modulation schemes. For example, aGaussian Frequency-Shift Keying modulation operating in an Industrial,Scientific, and Medical (ISM) frequency band such as 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz.Physical layer circuitry 3100 may utilize the frequencies of thechannels determined by link layer circuitry 3080, e.g., channel mapcircuitry 3090 to transmit and receive data over a wireless link.

While channel map circuitry 3090 was shown in the Link Layer circuitry3080, in other examples, it may be in the physical layer circuitry 3100,the Host Controller Interface Circuitry 3070, or the Host circuitry3050. The various circuitry described in FIG. 3 may be implemented bymodifying the operation of one or more digital signal processors (DSPs),transceivers, or processors, using instructions (e.g., software) on amachine readable medium. For example, the circuitry described in FIG. 3may be one or more modules as defined below. In other examples, thecircuitry may be implemented by one or more dedicated circuits, such asan ASIC.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of an example machine 4000 upon whichany one or more of the techniques (e.g., methodologies) discussed hereinmay perform. In alternative embodiments, the machine 4000 may operate asa standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to othermachines. In a networked deployment, the machine 4000 may operate in thecapacity of a server machine, a client machine, or both in server-clientnetwork environments. In an example, the machine 4000 may act as a peermachine in peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) networkenvironment. The machine 4000 may be a hearing device (e.g. a hearingaid), personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, a smart phone, aweb appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machinecapable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specifyactions to be taken by that machine. Further, while only a singlemachine is illustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken toinclude any collection of machines that individually or jointly executea set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more ofthe methodologies discussed herein, such as cloud computing software asa service (SaaS), other computer cluster configurations.

Examples, as described herein, may include, or may operate on, logic ora number of components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules are tangibleentities (e.g., hardware) capable of performing specified operations andmay be configured or arranged in a certain manner. In an example,circuits may be arranged (e.g., internally or with respect to externalentities such as other circuits) in a specified manner as a module. Inan example, the whole or part of one or more computer systems (e.g., astandalone, client or server computer system) or one or more hardwareprocessors may be configured by firmware or software (e.g.,instructions, an application portion, or an application) as a modulethat operates to perform specified operations. In an example, thesoftware may reside on a machine readable medium. In an example, thesoftware, when executed by the underlying hardware of the module, causesthe hardware to perform the specified operations.

Accordingly, the term “module” is understood to encompass a tangibleentity, be that an entity that is physically constructed, specificallyconfigured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily (e.g., transitorily)configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a specified manner or toperform part or all of any operation described herein. Consideringexamples in which modules are temporarily configured, each of themodules need not be instantiated at any one moment in time. For example,where the modules comprise a general-purpose hardware processorconfigured using software, the general-purpose hardware processor may beconfigured as respective different modules at different times. Softwaremay accordingly configure a hardware processor, for example, toconstitute a particular module at one instance of time and to constitutea different module at a different instance of time.

Machine (e.g., computer system) 4000 may include a hardware processor4002 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit(GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a mainmemory 4004 and a static memory 4006, some or all of which maycommunicate with each other via an interlink (e.g., bus) 4008. Themachine 4000 may further include a display unit 4010, an alphanumericinput device 4012 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI)navigation device 4014 (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the display unit4010, input device 4012 and UI navigation device 4014 may be a touchscreen display. The machine 4000 may additionally include a storagedevice (e.g., drive unit) 4016, a signal generation device 4018 (e.g., aspeaker), a network interface device 4020, and one or more sensors 4021,such as a microphone, a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, compass,accelerometer, or other sensor. The machine 4000 may include an outputcontroller 4028, such as a serial (e.g., universal serial bus (USB),parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near fieldcommunication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate or control one ormore peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, card reader, etc.).

The storage device 4016 may include a machine readable medium 4022 onwhich is stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions 4024(e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one or more of thetechniques or functions described herein. The instructions 4024 may alsoreside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 4004,within static memory 4006, or within the hardware processor 4002 duringexecution thereof by the machine 4000. In an example, one or anycombination of the hardware processor 4002, the main memory 4004, thestatic memory 4006, or the storage device 4016 may constitute machinereadable media.

While the machine readable medium 4022 is illustrated as a singlemedium, the term “machine readable medium” may include a single mediumor multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/orassociated caches and servers) configured to store the one or moreinstructions 4024.

The term “machine readable medium” may include any medium that iscapable of storing encoding or carrying instructions for execution bythe machine 4000 and that cause the machine 4000 to perform any one ormore of the techniques of the present disclosure, or that is capable ofstoring encoding or carrying data structures used by or associated withsuch instructions. Non-limiting machine readable medium examples mayinclude solid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media. Specificexamples of machine readable media may include: non-volatile memory,such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., Electrically ProgrammableRead-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-OnlyMemory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such asinternal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; RandomAccess Memory (RAM); Solid State Drives (SSD); and CD-ROM and DVD-ROMdisks. In some examples, machine readable media may includenon-transitory machine readable media. In some examples, machinereadable media may include machine readable media that is not atransitory propagating signal.

The instructions 4024 may further be transmitted or received over acommunications network 4026 using a transmission medium via the networkinterface device 4020. The Machine 4000 may communicate with one or moreother machines utilizing any one of a number of transfer protocols(e.g., frame relay, internet protocol (IP), transmission controlprotocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transferprotocol (HTTP), etc.). Example communication networks may include alocal area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet datanetwork (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellularnetworks), Plain Old Telephone (POT S) networks, and wireless datanetworks (e.g., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.11 family of standards known as Wi-Fi®, IEEE 802.16 family ofstandards known as WiMax®), IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards, a LongTerm Evolution (LTE) family of standards, a Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UM TS) family of standards, peer-to-peer(P2P) networks, among others. In an example, the network interfacedevice 4020 may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet,coaxial, or phone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect to thecommunications network 4026. In an example, the network interface device4020 may include a plurality of antennas to wirelessly communicate usingat least one of single-input multiple-output (SIMO), multiple-inputmultiple-output (MIMO), or multiple-input single-output (MISO)techniques. In some examples, the network interface device 4020 maywirelessly communicate using Multiple User MIMO techniques.

Various embodiments of the present subject matter support wirelesscommunications to and from a hearing device. In various embodiments thewireless communications can include standard or nonstandardcommunications. Some examples of standard wireless communicationsinclude link protocols including but not limited to, BLUETOOTH®, IEEE802.11 (wireless LANs), 802.15 (WPANs), 802.16 (WiMAX), cellularprotocols including but not limited to CDMA and GSM, ZIGBEE®, andultra-wideband (UWB) technologies. Such protocols support radiofrequency communications and some support infrared communications.Although the present system is demonstrated as a radio system, it ispossible that other forms of wireless communications can be used such asultrasonic, optical, and others. It is understood that the standardswhich can be used include past and present standards. It is alsocontemplated that future versions of these standards and new futurestandards may be employed without departing from the scope of thepresent subject matter.

The wireless communications support a connection from other devices.Such connections include, but are not limited to, one or more mono orstereo connections or digital connections having link protocolsincluding but not limited to 802.3 (Ethernet), 802.4, 802.5, USB, ATM,Fibre-channel, Firewire or 1394, InfiniBand, or a native streaminginterface. In various embodiments, such connections include all past andpresent link protocols. It is also contemplated that future versions ofthese protocols and new future standards may be employed withoutdeparting from the scope of the present subject matter.

It is understood that variations in communications protocols, antennaconfigurations, and combinations of components may be employed withoutdeparting from the scope of the present subject matter. Hearing devicestypically include an enclosure or housing a microphone, hearing deviceelectronics including processing electronics, and a speaker or receiver.It is understood that in various embodiments the microphone is optional.It is understood that in various embodiments the receiver is optional.Antenna configurations may vary and may be included within an enclosurefor the electronics or be external to an enclosure for the electronics.Thus, the examples set forth herein are intended to be demonstrative andnot a limiting or exhaustive depiction of variations. Hearing devicesmay include one or more and in some examples all of the components ofFIG. 4.

It is further understood that any hearing device may be used withoutdeparting from the scope and the devices depicted in the figures areintended to demonstrate the subject matter, but not in a limited,exhaustive, or exclusive sense. It is also understood that the presentsubject matter can be used with a device designed for use in the rightear or the left ear or both ears of the wearer.

It is understood that, and as already noted, the hearing devices (e.g.,hearing aids) referenced in this patent application include a processor(e.g., such as processor 4002 of FIG. 4). The processor may be a digitalsignal processor (DSP), microprocessor, microcontroller, other digitallogic, or combinations thereof. The processing of signals referenced inthis application can be performed using the processor. Processing may bedone in the digital domain, the analog domain, or combinations thereof.Processing may be done using sub band processing techniques. Processingmay be done with frequency domain or time domain approaches. Someprocessing may involve both frequency and time domain aspects. Forbrevity, in some examples drawings may omit certain blocks that performfrequency synthesis, frequency analysis, analog-to-digital conversion,digital-to-analog conversion, amplification, and certain types offiltering and processing. In various embodiments the processor isadapted to perform instructions stored in memory which may or may not beexplicitly shown. Various types of memory (e.g., such as static memory4006, main memory 4004, or the like) may be used, including volatile andnonvolatile forms of memory. In various embodiments, instructions areperformed by the processor to perform a number of signal processingtasks. In such embodiments, analog components are in communication withthe processor to perform signal tasks, such as microphone reception, orreceiver sound embodiments (i.e., in applications where such transducersare used). In various embodiments, different realizations of the blockdiagrams, circuits, and processes set forth herein may occur withoutdeparting from the scope of the present subject matter.

The present subject matter is demonstrated for hearing devices,including but not limited to headsets and hearing aids. Such hearingaids, include but are not limited to, behind-the-ear (BTE), in-the-ear(ITE), in-the-canal (ITC), receiver-in-canal (RIC),completely-in-the-canal (CIC), and invisible-in-the-canal (IIC) hearingaids. It is understood that behind-the-ear type hearing aids may includedevices that reside substantially behind the ear or over the ear. Suchdevices may include hearing aids with receivers associated with theelectronics portion of the behind-the-ear device, or hearing aids of thetype having receivers in the ear canal of the user, including but notlimited to receiver-in-canal (RIC) or receiver-in-the-ear (RITE)designs. The present subject matter can also be used in hearing devicesgenerally, such as cochlear implant type hearing devices and such asdeep insertion devices having a transducer, such as a receiver ormicrophone, whether custom fitted, standard, open fitted or occlusivefitted. It is understood that other hearing devices not expressly statedherein may be used in conjunction with the present subject matter.

What is claimed is:
 1. A hearing system configured to wirelesslycommunicate with a mobile device via a first wireless connection,comprising: a pair of first and second hearing devices configured tocommunicate with each other via a second wireless connection, the firsthearing device configured to receive from the mobile device a firstchannel map including a plurality of first channels each being afrequency range selected by the mobile device to be used for the firstwireless connection, to select one or more second channels from theplurality of first channels to be used for the second wirelessconnection, to produce a second channel map including the selected oneor more second channels, and to inform the second hearing device of thesecond channel map.
 2. The hearing system of claim 1, wherein the pairand first and second hearing devices comprises a pair of first andsecond hearing aids configured to perform ear-to-ear communication witheach other via the second wireless connection.
 3. The hearing system ofclaim 1, wherein the first hearing device is configured to be a slavedevice in the first wireless connection being a first piconet and amaster device in the second wireless connection being a second piconet.4. The hearing system of claim 1, wherein the first hearing device isfurther configured to reserve one or more first channels of the firstchannel map to be used exclusively for the first wireless connection andto select the one or more second channels from the remaining firstchannels of the first channel map.
 5. The hearing system of claim 4,wherein the first hearing device is configured to select all theremaining first channels of the first channel map to be the one or moresecond channels.
 6. The hearing system of claim 4, wherein the firsthearing device is further configured to periodically receive channelupdates from the mobile device updating the first channel map and toselect the one or more second channels from the updated first channelmap.
 7. The hearing system of claim 6, wherein the first hearing deviceis further configured to remove a second channel from the second channelmap and to reserve the removed second channel to be used exclusively forthe first wireless connection in response to a reserved first channelbeing removed from the first channel map in a channel update of thereceived channel updates.
 8. The hearing system of claim 6, wherein thefirst hearing device is further configured to reduce a number of thereserved first channels in response to a number of the first channels inthe first channel number drops below a threshold.
 9. The hearing systemof claim 4, wherein the first hearing device is further configured tomonitor performance of communication in the first wireless connectionand to adjust a number of the reserved first channels based on theperformance of communication in the first wireless connection.
 10. Thehearing system of claim 9, wherein the first hearing device is furtherconfigured to monitor a communication parameter of the first wirelessconnection that indicates whether the second wireless connection isinterfering with the first wireless connection.
 11. The hearing systemof claim 10, wherein the first hearing device is further configured toincrease the number of the reserved first channels in response to thecommunication parameter falling outside an acceptable range.
 12. Thehearing system of claim 4, wherein the first hearing device is furtherconfigured to periodically rotate the reserved one or more firstchannels with the selected one or more second channels.
 13. A method formanaging communication for a hearing system, comprising: receiving froma mobile device a first channel map using a first hearing device, thefirst channel map including a plurality of first channels each being afrequency range selected by the mobile device to be used for a firstwireless connection for communication between the mobile device and thefirst hearing device; producing a second channel map including one ormore second channels each being a frequency range selected by the firsthearing device to be used for a second wireless connection forcommunication between the first hearing device and a second hearingdevice, including selecting the one or more second channels from theplurality of first channels; and informing the second hearing device ofthe second channel map.
 14. The method of claim 13, comprising:establishing the first wireless connection as a first piconet have afirst master device and a first slave device; establishing the secondwireless connection as a second piconet having a second master deviceand a second slave device; configuring the mobile device to be the firstmaster device; configuring the first hearing device as the first slavedevice and the second master device; and configuring the second hearingdevice as the second slave device.
 15. The method of claim 14, whereinestablishing the second wireless connection comprises establishingear-to-ear communication between first and second hearing aids.
 16. Themethod of claim 13, further comprising reserving one or more firstchannels of the first channel map to be used exclusively for the firstwireless connection, and wherein selecting the one or more secondchannels comprises selecting the one or more second channels from theremaining first channels of the first channel map.
 17. The method ofclaim 16, further comprising: receiving channel updates periodically;removing a second channel from the second channel map in response to areserved first channel being removed from the first channel map in achannel update of the received channel updates; and reserving theremoved second channel to be used exclusively for the first wirelessconnection.
 18. The method of claim 16, further comprising: monitoringperformance of communication in the first wireless connection; andadjusting a number of the reserved first channels based on theperformance of communication in the first wireless connection.
 19. Themethod of claim 16, further comprising determining a number of thereserved first channels based on a number of the first channels in thefirst channel map.
 20. The method of claim 16, further comprisingrotating the reserved one or more channels with the selected one or moresecond channels.